Spidey Slander
by Nimrodel 101
Summary: Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man has just been revealed to the world, a world which will believe anything they see. Should Peter hide? Or should he tell the truth to a world that won't believe him? Set after Far From Home and between Seasons 5 and 6 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is based on the mid and end credit scenes for Spider-Man: Far From Home. MAJOR SPOILER WARNING if you have not seen SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME. Read at your own risk. Reviews, comments, P/Ms, and constructive criticism are very welcome and appreciated.**

**Dedication: To my sister who is nuts for Spider-Man and who got into Marvel at my insistence that she watch it. Love you!**

**Disclaimer: No characters belong to me. Marvel owns them all.**

* * *

"…Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!"

Peter's heart began to race as his life shattered right in front of him. People began to point up to where he sat perched on the lamppost.

Without thinking about it, he leapt down, picked up M.J., and swung across the city towards home. As he swung, all he could think about was keeping M.J. safe.

As soon as they had reached his apartment building, he jumped through the open window and tore his mask off.

M.J. shook with fear after the sudden and mostly unwelcome swing through the city. Once she had calmed down enough to speak, she said shakily, "Well, I guess everyone knows now." "I guess so," he replied, still trying to decide what to do.

"Peter?" May slammed his bedroom door open, "Happy and I just saw the news. You and M.J. should come into the kitchen."

Peter and M.J. silently followed May into the kitchen where Happy was on the phone.

"Yes, I _would_ like to speak to the _real_ Nick Fury! Yes, this _is_ a _very real_ emergency! Okay, I'll wait." Happy huffed as he hung up, "He wanted me to wait. Apparently, the Fury we've been in contact with for this entire mission has not been the real Nick Fury at all and has only been an alien pretending to be Fury."

"An alien?" asked Peter, momentarily forgetting his peril in favor of his nerdiness, "like in the movie _Men in Black_?"

"Not quite. Fury gave it permission to impersonate him so that he could take a vacation."

"Cool!" Peter said, his interest piquing, "was it the alien or Fury that you called?"

"The alien. It said it would call Fury and have him call me back."

"Okay, so what do we do in the meantime?" May asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, the police, FBI, and likely the UN will want to arrest Peter, so we can't stay here," Happy answered, frustrated and annoyed that the person Tony had entrusted him to keep safe's secret identity had just been revealed to the entire world.

"Why not?" Peter asked, a confused look on his face.

"Do you want to get arrested, you idiot?" yelled M.J., shoving him.

"No, of course not, but couldn't I just explain what actually happened to them?"

Happy sighed and sat down tiredly, "No kid, you couldn't. The government wouldn't care that you didn't do it. They think they have infallible video proof that you activated the drones to destroy the city. There's also the fact that you didn't sign the Accords. You would be held responsible for that and vigilantism as well as the attack on London. Our play right now is to find a safe house and wait out the media frenzy."

"Okay," Peter sighed, sitting down heavily, the weight of the world suddenly on his shoulders.

"So where do we go?" May asked, clearly very concerned that her nephew's life had just been turned upside down.

"Pepper and Tony's cabin would be the best place to go to sort things out until we can find a more permanent safe house that the government is not aware of," Happy replied, the look on his face showing that he was not in love with the idea.

"Um, what about me?" M.J. asked, raising her hand, "do I have to go into hiding too?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Just because I heard the plan?" she sighed, clearly annoyed with the whole concept of security.

"Because you heard the plan and because you're closely associated with Peter, the government might assume you're a collaborator and arrest you."

"On what grounds?" M.J. challenged Happy, crossing her arms.

"On the grounds of assisting a terrorist!"

The room filled with tension until Happy's phone rang. "It's Pepper. I have to get this."

"I guess we should start packing," May said sullenly, making her way to her bedroom to pack her suitcase.

"You want to help me pack?" Peter awkwardly asked M.J., pointing to his room with his thumb.

"Sure, it's not as if I have anything else to do, besides assisting a terrorist." "But…I'm…" Peter stammered. "I'm messing with you, " M.J. smiled as she kissed him on the cheek, "But seriously, we have to get moving."

"Yeah, right."

"Okay, Pepper's sending the Quinjet, so be ready in five minutes!" Happy yelled from the living room as he hung up his phone.

* * *

Peter led M.J., May and Happy onto the roof as soon as Happy got the word that the Quinjet had landed.

It was strange for Peter to be going up to the roof without his suit on. He felt vulnerable and exposed. But most of all, he felt scared. No, scared wasn't the right word. He felt _terrified_. The uncertainty that had just overtaken his life was terrifying and would have to take some getting used to, so he took a deep breath and stepped out of the stairway and into the sunlight, quickly making his way to the open door of the invisible Quinjet.

The sirens he had been hearing ever since his swing home with M.J. began to concentrate around his building, and he suddenly got the nerve to peer down off the edge of the roof. Five police cars and an armored prisoner transport vehicle were gathered. He took a sharp intake of breath and ran into the Quinjet, where his friends and family quickly followed.

"Hi, I'm Agent Davis, from S.H.I.E.L.D.," said the young, blonde-haired man in the cockpit, "Stow your luggage anywhere and then take a seat and buckle up."

"I thought we were going to the Stark cabin?" Happy asked, irritated as he fumbled with the complicated seatbelt.

"Mrs. Stark contacted Agent Hill, who put her in touch with us. You'll be much safer with us than with her until this crisis is smoothed over," Davis replied.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" asked Peter, a look of utter surprise and wonder on his face, "as in the organization that deals with Inhumans?"

"Well, yes and no," the agent said while carefully maneuvering the Quinjet off the roof to fly over the city, "traditionally, S.H.I.E.L.D. was an intelligence organization that dealt with direct threats to humanity, mostly alien, then its job was mostly to locate, train, and educate the Inhumans, but lately, we've been dealing with some pretty weird stuff."

"Like what?" Peter wondered if it was weirder then what he had had to deal with recently.

"Like preventing the end of the world by having agents sucked into the future, brought back to the present to save the world, and have one agent die and yet still be alive because he's frozen in space."

May looked sharply at Peter, knowing how similar his recent experiences were to the agent's. Peter looked back at her, a small smile on his face.

"Wow, that's a lot, similar to being beamed up into a space doughnut and having to fight a huge alien on an alien planet or being blipped and brought back to life and then going through a wizard's portal or having to fight a psycho with holograms."

"Wait, you went to space?" asked M.J., her mouth gaping open.

"Yeah, join the club, kid," said Davis nonchalantly, a grin on his face, "where we're going, space is not the weirdest or most interesting place most people have been."

"Where are we going?" May asked, concerned.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters," Davis replied, as a white lighthouse next to a shining blue lake came into view.

"That's S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters?" Happy asked, "I thought it would be much bigger."

"Oh, it's just the tip of the iceberg, my friend," Davis replied, as a giant circle appeared in the water and Davis lowered the Quinjet down into it.

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. H.Q.," Davis said, as he lowered the ramp, "if you'll follow me, I'll take you to see the director."

* * *

**A/N: For those interested in/concerned with timelines, I place this story right before Season 6 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., when Daisy, Jemma, Davis, and Piper are planning to go look for Fitz in the Zephyr. I know the timelines are a bit off between the show and Endgame, but I'm compensating for them as best as I can. **

**For those Spider-Man fans who don't watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this story is mostly going to be about Spider-Man. I only crossed it over because I love the show and I figured the Lighthouse would be a good place for Peter and friends to hide. **

**If you've taken the time to read this little story of mine, I would very much appreciate you writing down your opinion of it (good or bad) or reaction to it (good or bad) in the reviews. Having people read my story is wonderful, but I would really like to know what you think of it. Your response to my story helps encourage me to continue it and gives me a boost when (or if) writer's block sets in. Thank you! **


	2. Chapter 2

"Breaking News: Spider-man's identity revealed."

The statement, so simple, and yet so profound in the lives of so many people, blinked across the screens of TVs, phones, and computers across the world.

"Spider-man's name is Peter Parker."

People across the world stared at their screens. Some nonchalantly, some in complete and utter disbelief.

"This can't be real," whispered a sixteen year old boy in New York. "No one's supposed to know."

A knock sounded at his door. "Ned?" A woman's voice sounded through the door.

Ned stood up from where he was sitting on the floor and walked over to the door, trying not to step on any of the Legos that were strewn across his bedroom floor.

"Ned, did you see what's on the news?" His mom asked as soon as he opened his door.

"Yeah," he said, shocked and on the verge of panic.

"Ned, is it true?"

"Is what true? That my best friend is a superhero, or that my best friend is a terrorist?"

"Either."

Ned let out a deep breath. "Peter is Spider-man. I found out a year, well, no _five_ years ago."

"And the other…" his mom said, uncertainty on her face.

"Peter is _not_ a terrorist!" Ned said forcefully, "Why would you even think that, mom? You know him!"

"Of course I know that! What I was going to ask was what really happened in Europe?"

"Nick Fury recruited Peter to fight with Mysterio against things called Elementals. He fought them and won, but then he gave Mysterio E.D.I.T.H., which is this really cool super-glasses tech that he got from Mr. Stark."

"Peter knew Tony Stark?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Cool," Ned's mom responded, encouraging her son to continue.

"Yeah, well anyway, then it turned out that Mysterio was a psychopath who wanted the world to think he was a hero. He and Peter fought a couple of times and the last time, in London, Peter won, but Mysterio was injured badly and died because of it. Peter did _not_ kill Mysterio!"

His mom breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that's good. I always knew he was a good kid, and I didn't want to believe otherwise."

"Mom?" Ned asked, looking at the ground.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Is Peter going to be okay? I mean, I know being declared a terrorist is terrible, but will he get out of this? Will everything be alright?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. I really don't know."

* * *

Peter and his friends, no, _family_, were lead down the dark metal hallways of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base to the director's office. He couldn't help but notice the amount of people who came out of their rooms or offices to stare at him as he passed by.

He couldn't blame them. He was, after all, technically a terrorist.

"Mr. Parker."

Peter turned to face a tall and very muscular man.

"I'm Director Mackenzie," the man said, holding his hand out to shake.

"I'm Peter Parker," Peter replied seriously, shaking the man's hand with a firm grip.

"Come into my office," the director told Peter, "Davis will show the rest of you to your rooms."

Peter timidly followed the man into the room, feeling very much like a high schooler in his principal's office. At least that was what he would have felt like a week ago. Today, he had seen things. He had grown up. He had fought Mysterio on his own and defeated him. He could handle this.

"Have a seat," the director said, gesturing to a large metal chair in a corner of the room.

Peter sat, eyeing the chair nervously.

The director motioned to a small, brown-haired woman who was standing on the opposite end of the room. She was so quiet and withdrawn that Peter hadn't noticed her at first.

"This is a lie detector," the director explained as the brown-haired woman began to close the restraints around his wrists and ankles and to hook him up to the monitors. "It's the best one there is. If you lie to me even once, I will know and I will lock you in a prison cell so dark and cold that even you with all your superpowers will not be able to get out. Got it?"

"Got it," Peter said, swallowing nervously.

"Thank you Jemma," Director Mackenzie nodded to the woman, who nodded back and left the room.

"We'll start with a few easy ones to calibrate the machine. What is your full name?"

"Peter Benjamin Parker."

"What is your date of birth?"

"August 10."

"Are you 43 years old?"

"No."

"Do you live in New York?"

"Yes."

"Are you Spider-man?"

"Yes."

"Are you from Brooklyn?"

"No."

"What happened in London?"

"I fought Mysterio and he tried to kill me."

"What is Mysterio's real name?"

"Quentin Beck."

"Why did he want to kill you?"

"Because I found out the truth about of him."

"What is the truth about him?"

"He's a fake superhero who wants to hurt people."

The director's face stayed passive.

"Are you a terrorist?"

"No."

"Prove it."

Peter took a deep breath.

"All I've wanted since I got these powers was to do good with them. To help people, to look out for the little guy. I don't want to kill people. I don't want to make people suffer. I just want to help them. I have a responsibility to help them."

"Okay, Mr. Parker. No more questions," Director Mackenzie said, unstrapping him.

"That's it?" Peter asked, eyebrows raising in surprise.

"You didn't lie. Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D." Director Mackenzie held out his hand for a handshake.

"Thank you," Peter responded, shaking it. "What do we do now?"

"We wait."

* * *

Ned heard a knock on his front door. He jumped. Ever since he'd heard the terrible news that people thought Peter was a terrorist, he'd been dreading that the police or the FBI might find him and take him in.

"S.H.I.E.L.D., open the door," a muffled voice on the other side said.

Ned's mom opened the door. On the other side was a young woman with dyed blonde hair dressed entirely in black with silver gauntlets around her wrists and arms up to her elbows.

"Hello, I'm Agent Daisy Johnson with S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm here to bring Ned Leeds to a secure location."

"And by that, you mean bring in for questioning," Ned's mom said, fire in her eyes. "No one's taking my son anywhere without my permission. He's a minor, for goodness sake!"

"And all the governments of the world think that he's an accessory to terrorism," Agent Johnson responded calmly, "They don't care that he's a minor."

"How do I know that he'll be safe with you?"

"You don't," the agent responded, "but I can assure you that he will be as safe as he can be with S.H.I.E.L.D. and that he will be safer with us than he would be if the police or FBI found him first."

"How do I know that I can trust you?"

"I know S.H.I.E.L.D. has gotten a bad wrap lately, me especially. But often times things are not as they seem. You know Peter Parker personally. Do you think he's a terrorist?"

"No, of course not."

"Exactly. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been called many things over the years, but I can assure you that its goals have been the same the whole time: to keep humanity safe."

"I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was Hydra."

"It was, but it's not anymore. We overthrew Hydra. I was there."

"But.."

"Look, Mrs. Leeds, I would love to keep up this questioning all day, but your son is in danger and I would very much like to bring him to safety. May I?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. Pack your stuff quickly, we're going to have to leave ASAP."

"But.."

"Look," the agent said, putting her hand on Ned's shoulder and looking him in the eyes, "I know how hard it is to be away from everything that is familiar to you, I really do. But I also know what it's like to feel like you've betrayed your family. I don't want you to go through that. Come with me and you can avoid that."

"Okay," Ned said, nodding.

"Great," Agent Johnson said, standing up, "the sooner we can get out of here, the better."

* * *

**A/N:**** I am so very profusely sorry that it took me so long to update! I am now back in school, so updates will probably continue to be infrequent. Thank you so much for sticking with me! I am so grateful and humbled every time I see a new follow or favorite, even though I have not been updating! Thank you so much! **

**Also, shout out to my reviewers! You guys are amazing!**

**P.S. This is what happens when I'm procrastinating NaNoWriMo, by the way... :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Mr. Jameson?"

"Yes? What?" The man in question demanded of his secretary.

"Mr. Jameson, I thought you'd like to know that the Chief of Police has consented to an interview about the hunt for Spider-man."

"Great, Carol. Send him in."

"That's the thing, Mr. Jameson, the Chief of Police consented, but only at his office," the young secretary responded.

J. Jonah Jameson leaned back and sighed. He was so used to being the boss that he forgot that he couldn't just boss around the Chief of Police. He would have to be tactful in his interview.

"Alright, then. I'll go start up my car."

—

Captain George Stacey sighed. Today had been a long and hard day and now he had to prepare a statement or do an interview for the press. He ran his hands over his tired eyes. May as well get it over with before he went home for the day. He was under a legal obligation to let the press, and therefore, the people, know as much information as he could possibly give them.

"Captain?" his deputy stuck her head in his office.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked, slightly upset to have his momentary peace interrupted.

"Mr. Jameson from the _Daily Bugle_ is here."

"Thank you, let him know I'll be there in a minute."

The deputy nodded and walked off, newfound purpose in her step.

_Oh, what a way to end the day_, he thought with annoyance as he slowly stood up from his chair, making his way to the press meeting room at the front of the police station.

"Mr. Jameson," he greeted the other man as he stepped into the meeting room.

"Captain," the other man nodded, reaching out to shake his hand.

"What is it you would like to know, Mr. Jameson?" the captain asked, taking a seat and motioning for the other man to do the same.

"I would like to know your progress in hunting down that menace that we call Spider-man."

"Mr. Jameson, you do realize that when we do catch Spider-man, he will be given a fair trail in accordance with the law and it will be assumed by that court that he is innocent until he is proven guilty."

"Which he will be," Jameson nodded finitely.

The captain sighed, folding his hands on the tabletop, "Be that as it may, it is my preference that no more accusations be made until more evidence can be found."

"What about Peter Parker?" Jameson asked, folding his arms across his chest.

The captain looked the reporter in the eye, "If Spider-man and Peter Parker turn out to be one and the same person, than he will have the same trial in the court of law. If you would like something to report, report this: Peter Parker and or Spider-man should turn himself in and subject himself to a fair trial in the court of law. If he does not, he will also be accused with obstruction of justice because he ran from the law."

"Could you repeat that so I can record it?"

"Sure," the captain sighed before repeating the statement.

—

M.J. was an early riser. Because of this, the next morning, she found that she was the only one of the group that was awake. She smiled to herself as she silently slipped into the hallway. Peter was usually grouchy when he came to school in the morning, so she let him and Ned sleep. Besides, she could be the first to explore the secret base.

She frowned as she remembered their reason for being there. She had faith in S.H.I.E.L.D., now that she thought of it. She hoped they would be able to find a way to clear Peter. She didn't know what she would do if they didn't.

M.J. continued to wander until she came across what looked like an empty lab. She let herself in, figuring that the owner of the lab would not have left it open if they did not want people to find their way in.

She walked on silent feet all the way around until she reached the far corner. There was a young, brown-haired woman sitting at a desk, looking through what appeared to be star charts.

M.J. shifted her weight and gave a small sigh, hoping not to startle the woman. It didn't work.

The woman jumped and dropped her pen. "What are you doing?" the woman asked M.J. in a British accent.

"I'm sorry, I was just looking around."

"You can't just go scaring people like that, especially those of us who are working."

"What were you working on?" M.J. asked, sitting across the table from the agent. She usually didn't like talking to people she didn't know, but this woman's lab was fascinating, and she figured that if she talked to the woman and at the very least made up for scaring her, the agent might let her poke around a bit.

The woman sighed and fingered a chain around her neck. It had what appeared to be a ring on it.

"I'm looking for the last known location of a spaceship."

M.J. looked at her, surprised, "Why?"

"Because my husband is on it, or at least should be on it."

"Your husband's an astronaut?"

The woman rubbed her hand against her eyes, then looked up at M.J. with a tiny smile playing on the corner of her mouth. "Are you overly familiar with the concept of time travel?"

M.J. felt her eyebrows crease. "No," she replied slowly, thinking.

"Well my husband died, but since the beginning of that timeline was erased, then he is alive somewhere out in the cosmos. The only thing I have to do is to find him."

M.J. felt her eyes widen. "Are you serious?" she whispered, "Like you're not joking with me at all? Time travel is a real thing?"

The agent gave her a real smile this time and nodded. "Theoretically, it was always possible, but since I've experienced it firsthand myself, I can safely say without hypothesis, that time travel is indeed very real."

Suddenly, what looked to be a com system beeped next to them. The agent pressed the button. "Jemma, you might want to see this," Director Mackenzie's voice sounded in the room.

Jemma turned to the console next to her desk and pressed another button, turning it to the news channel the director had instructed.

The face of J. Jonah Jameson of the _Daily Bugle_ filled the screen in front of them.

"I have a message to Spider-man from the police," he said, a victorious look on his face.

Then, a picture of the police chief, Captain Stacey, filled the screen along with an audio recoding: "Peter Parker and or Spider-man should turn himself in and subject himself to a fair trial in the court of law. If he does not, he will also be accused with obstruction of justice because he ran from the law."

M.J. looked to Jemma, questioning the agent with her eyes, suddenly much more afraid for her friend, "What are we going to do?"

Jemma took a deep breath, "Whatever the director decides is best."

—

**A/N: Thank you for all the follows/favorites and the kind reviews!**


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